Men honored for quick, courageous actions

Thursday

VICTORVILLE • Jeffery Cannon and Bruce Fenstermaker do not think of themselves as heroes, but for one young mother and her child, that moniker is fitting.

Cannon was busy at work at Carson Trailers the afternoon of Feb. 16 and Fenstermaker was visiting his daughter who manages the location when they heard a deafening sound come from behind the business.

When the men looked over the fence that faces the northbound lanes of Interstate 15 they saw a sickening sight, the remains of what once was Veronica Torres's Scion. The men jumped over the fence and their hearts dropped when they learned there was a small child in the unrecognizable back seat of the vehicle.

Together, with at least six other unidentified passersby, the group worked to free Torres and her 2-year-old daughter, Lexy Gabel, from the twisted metal.

"It was a bit weird hearing about it because I do not feel like what we did was worthy of 'People of the Year,' " Cannon said. "I know there are hundreds of other people in our area that do more and do it consistently. I was just at the right place at the right time."

Torres was moving to Las Vegas with her daughter that day and had some problems with her vehicle, according to Torres's sister, Esmeralda Torres. The young mother had pulled over onto the shoulder and was waiting for help when she noticed a pickup truck barreling toward her vehicle on the shoulder.

After the violent impact, Torres said the next thing she remembered was Fenstermaker standing outside her window. She asked him what had happened then told the good Samaritans who helped get her out that her daughter was still in the mangled vehicle.

"When I found out the little girl was in there I thought, 'Oh geez. A little baby,' " said Fenstermaker, 61, of Apple Valley.

Miraculously, little Lexy only had a scratches.

For more about the Cannon and Fenstermaker's actions, read the full story in Friday's Daily Press. Get complete stories every day with the "exactly as printed" Daily Press E-edition, only $5 per month! Click here to try it free for 7 days. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755, 1-800-553-2006 or click here.

Beatriz E. Valenzuela may be reached at (760) 951-6276 or at BValenzuela@VVDailyPress.com.

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